The magazine ranks the top 100 companies for hiring over the past 18 months, and compiles separate rankings by state. Only one Alabama company made the national 100 list, Hargrove Engineers & Constructors in Mobile. That company hired 226 people over the last 18 months, according to Inc.

McLeod, which specializes in software for the transportation industry, was the highest ranking Birmingham company on the state list, with 68 new hires over the past 18 months.

Mark Cubine, McLeod’s vice president for marketing, said the Inc. numbers are a little behind. The company has averaged 20 percent compound growth in both employment and revenue over the past three years, and expects to post 40 percent growth this year.

“We have seen a really impressive growth spurt in the last three years,” he said.

The company likely will pass 300 in total employment by the end of the year.

The recent growth has been a result of both the recovering economy and the development of new products, Cubine said. The recession hit the transportation industry hard, he said, but it also prompted companies to look for ways to be more efficient, and that brought customers to McLeod, he said.